CPU Bottleneck - need suggestions

[MrToilet]

I have an Athlon 64 Venice running @ 2.6 gHz with two 7900 GT KO's voltmodded and running at 650/1600 clocks in SLI.

I think my CPU isn't quite fast enough to feed the video cards, so I'm wondering whether it would be worth it to buy an Opteron 165 or X2 3800 and overclock it to ~2.6-2.7. Would this make a difference for gaming? I know for normal multi-tasking it would be worth it, but I'm wondering about gaming. I've been playing Company of Heroes, Oblivion, etc, and I feel like my CPU is holding me back...

Thanks for any input.

Maybe this belongs in the CPU forum...sorry, but I'd still appreciate any ideas.

 

[mushroom3]

it wouldnt make a difference unless the game can actually use both core

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: mushroom3
it wouldnt make a difference unless the game can actually use both core

To be fair, with XP/Vista Cpu scheduling, the extra core would help with background processes such as explorer, file sharing/ftp, antivirus, all kinds of crazy stuff. Mushroom is basically correct, as you probably wouldn't see a huge difference on games that aren't coded or patched for multicore, but it would still be an improvement. How much really depends on how much background junk you have running, and the game itself. Most of the big games on the horizon (as well as many current excellent ones like Quake 4) are SMP-ready

If you want a big step up, sell your current getup, go to C2D 6420 or such, a single 8800GTS/GTX, and some D9 DDR2.

 

[IEC]

Wait for the April price cuts and get a C2D based system. Actually, the most effective change you could make is selling your SLI video cards and buying a single 8800GTS.

 

[MrToilet]

What's the performance difference between my SLI'ed 7900 GT's @ 650/1600 and one 8800 GTS? Would it be a noticeable change? I was under the belief that performance is pretty similar.